Was (Not Was)
Was (Not Was) is an American pop rock group founded by David Weiss and Donald Fagenson, who adopted the stage names David Was and Don Was. They gained popularity in the 1980s and early 1990s. Career Beginnings Weiss and Fagenson were childhood friends who grew up together in suburban Detroit, Michigan, United States. Partly due to Fagenson's poverty they decided to form Was (Not Was) in 1979. The name of the band was derived from Fagenson's then-infant son Tony, who was just beginning to talk and enjoyed contradicting words such as "Blue" with "Not Blue". Their first recording was "Wheel Me Out", a 12-inch dance record for the avant-garde ZE Records. David's mother Elizabeth Elkin Weiss, an actress and radio pioneer in their native Detroit, provided the outré vocals. The track was later included on the 2000 compilation album Disco Not Disco. Their first album Was (Not Was) (1981) was an amalgam of rock, disco, Weiss's beat poetry, Reagan-era political-social commentary, and jazz. On vocals they recruited Harry Bowens and "Sweet Pea" Atkinson, who frequently found themselves singing absurdist and satirical songs alongside tender ballads. Wayne Kramer of MC5, The Knack's Doug Fieger, and Charles Mingus trumpeter Marcus Belgrave were among the guest players. In 1982, the group played on Don't Walk Away, a solo album for lead singer "Sweet Pea" Atkinson. Development Born to Laugh at Tornadoes (1983) had even more guest musicians, including Ozzy Osbourne rapping over electro, Mitch Ryder singing a techno-rockabilly number, Mel Tormé performing a ballad about asphyxiation, and an abstract funk piece called "Man vs. the Empire Brain Building". Singer Donald Ray Mitchell joined the group as third lead vocalist. In 1988, they found their biggest hit with the album What Up, Dog?, which featured the singles "Walk the Dinosaur" and "Spy in the House of Love". Special guests included Stevie Salas, John Patitucci, Frank Sinatra, Jr., and a writing credit for Elvis Costello. Film and animation work Artist/animator Christoph Simon created videos to accompany some of their stranger album tracks, such as "What Up, Dog?", "Dad I'm in Jail," and the Tom Waits-style "Earth to Doris." The videos appeared on MTV's Liquid Television and in various film festivals, including the Spike & Mike festival. Around this time, the Was Brothers developed separate careers as producers, film scorers, and music supervisors. Hiatus The group followed up with Are You Okay? in 1990, spearheaded by a cover of "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone". Guest musicians included Iggy Pop, Leonard Cohen, The Roches, and Syd Straw. After a tour with Dire Straits in 1992 and a UK Top 5 single with "Shake Your Head", which included vocals from Ozzy Osbourne and Kim Basinger, Weiss and Fagenson drifted apart, subsequently releasing only a compilation album Hello Dad... I'm in Jail. Some members, however, did appear on Don's Orquestra Was project Forever Is a Long Long Time (1997), which re-interpreted Hank Williams in a jazz/R&B vein. Reunion In late 2004, Was (Not Was) reformed for a two-month club tour through the US, including stops at the House of Blues in Cleveland and Chicago and the Trocadero in Philadelphia. In October 2005, they played four gigs at the Jazz Café in London. In 2008, they released their fifth studio album, Boo!, featuring guest appearances from Kris Kristofferson, Wayne Kramer, Marcus Miller and Booker T. Jones, plus a song originally co-written with Bob Dylan nearly 20 years earlier. On April 22, they performed on the British show Later... with Jools Holland, and on May 2, they were the musical guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. The band toured the US that year, beginning on April 30. Material loss On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Was (Not Was) among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire. Commentary Writing in Detroit's Metro Times, Brian J. Bowe described the band as "an endearing mess....a sausage factory of funk, rock, jazz and electronic dance music, all providing a boogie-down backdrop for a radical (and witty) political message of unbridled personal freedom and skepticism of authority."Bowe, Brian J. "Out Come the Freaks", Metro Times. December 29, 2004. Discography Studio albums Compilation albums Singles Contributions * A Christmas Record (1981, ZE Records) - "Christmas Time in the Motor City" * That's the Way I Feel Now: A Tribute to Thelonious Monk (1984, A&M Records) - "Ba-Lue-Bolivar-Ba-Lues-Are" * Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films (1988, A&M Records) - "Baby Mine" See also * List of number-one dance hits (United States) * List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart References External links * World Wide Was * Was (Not Was) Message Board * MySpace Page * Trouser Press entry * Was (Not Was) at www.musicianguide.com * * Was (Not Was) collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive Category:American funk musical groups Category:American post-disco music groups Category:Rykodisc artists Category:Geffen Records artists Category:Chrysalis Records artists Category:Musical groups from Detroit Category:Musical groups established in 1979 Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2004 Category:ZE Records artists Category:Fontana Records artists